Overheard someone bragging about taking collagen at a party? Spotted it at your local health food shop? Noticed it pop up in your algorithm? There’s a reason for this. And no, it’s not just another health and beauty fad.
Collagen is one of the main structural proteins in the body that holds everything together. Its presence is especially paramount for keeping our connective tissues such as skin, tendons and bones strong due to its molecular structure that resembles that of a rope. This rope is joined together by many smaller proteins known as amino acids.
In the skin, collagen’s role is to give structure, strength and elasticity, and is often marketed as keeping our skin looking youthful and plump. Our bones, on the other hand, contain collagen in a lattice-like matrix which is deposited by our bone building cells known as osteoblasts. Collagen is what provides our bones with both strength and flexibility. Without it our bones would break under minor stress.
So, if collagen is such an important component of our body, then why do the levels of collagen in our body decline? Let’s breakdown why.
Aging
One core reason that collagen levels decline is simply due to aging. After 20 years of age the amount of collagen that the body produces decreases by around 1% per year. This may seem like a miniscule amount but there are plenty of factors that can cause rapid degeneration.
Aging is a natural physiological process that is most evident when observing a person’s skin, for example the presence of wrinkles. Which are not only a consequence of aging gracefully, but because collagen fibres within the skin lose their thickness and elasticity allowing for easier breakdown.
Women are also susceptible to a further reduction in collagen production during menopause. During this stage of life women are experiencing the cessation of their menstrual cycle – aka amenorrhea – which involves a considerable drop in female hormones such as oestrogen. Studies have shown that these hormonal changes are directly correlated to the quality of our skin including collagen content.
Environmental factors
Sun exposure is a major external factor that influences collagen loss and further degeneration. UV radiation induces a process called photoaging in the skin whereby skin cells become damaged through ongoing inflammation and DNA damage. However, the most significant impact UV has on collagen is its ability to increase the degradation of collagen fibres leading to wrinkles and elastosis – a lack of skin elasticity.
Smoking is inflammatory in nature producing prooxidants and free radicals. Which ‘consume’ the good anti-inflammatory oxidants known as antioxidants in our body. They protect our cells from oxidative damage. This includes the depletion of antioxidants like Vitamin C which is critical in the building of collagen proteins. Without enough Vitamin C the enzymes that modify the collagen structure become impaired leading to reduced collagen generation, observed in smokers as increased wound healing times.
Diet
We cannot talk about collagen without mentioning diet. The consumption of a western style diet which lacks in essential vitamins and nutrients is detrimental to collagen production. We’ve already mentioned vitamin C. What are the others?
Zinc is one mineral which is particularly important for stimulating collagen synthesis in osteoblasts to increase bone formation. It works much like vitamin C in that it activates the enzymes needed to form a functioning collagen structure. Zinc is most rich in foods such as oysters, red meat, pumpkin seeds, cashews and salmon.
Are you low in iron? iron is needed for a process in collagen production known as hydroxylation which helps stabilise and form its rope-like molecular structure. Animal proteins are richest in the body’s preferred source of iron – heme iron – whereas its best to consume plant-based sources of iron, such as legumes and tofu, alongside a source of vitamin C to optimise absorption.
Ensuring you’re meeting your daily protein requirements is essential for supporting the body’s collagen production. This may seem obvious, but getting enough protein can be harder than you think. Collagen is mostly made of the amino acids lysine, proline and glycine so getting in a variety of protein sources a day is beneficial. This could look like 3 scrambled eggs at breakfast, tuna and chickpeas at lunch, Greek yogurt mid-afternoon, and chicken at dinner. Without consuming a variety of proteins collagen synthesis may become suboptimized due to not having enough of these amino acids available.
Also, consuming foods such as salmon and chicken skin, soft fish bones, slow cooked meat with the bone in, bone broths and gelatine are extremely beneficial as they’re naturally collagen rich. Otherwise supplementing with a collagen powder is a super convenient way to support collagen production.
Look for a collagen powder containing vitamin C to maximise benefits. Active Collagen’s All-In-One Hair Skin Nails is packed with 5g of collagen per serve with the added benefit of vitamin C. Head here to find out more!
Albaugh, V. L., Mukherjee, K., & Barbul, A. (2017). Proline Precursors and Collagen Synthesis: Biochemical Challenges of Nutrient Supplementation and Wound Healing. The Journal of nutrition, 147(11), 2011–2017. https://doi.org/10.3945/jn.117.256404
Alyami, R., Al Jasser, R., Alshehri, F. A., Alshibani, N., Bin Hamdan, S., Alyami, R. A., & Niazy, A. A. (2023). Vitamin C influences antioxidative, anti-inflammatory and wound healing markers in smokers’ gingival fibroblasts in vitro. The Saudi dental journal, 35(4), 337–344. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.sdentj.2023.03.009
Pu, S. Y., Huang, Y. L., Pu, C. M., Kang, Y. N., Hoang, K. D., Chen, K. H., & Chen, C. (2023). Effects of Oral Collagen for Skin Anti-Aging: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Nutrients, 15(9), 2080. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15092080
Reus, T. L., Brohem, C. A., Schuck, D. C., & Lorencini, M. (2020). Revisiting the effects of menopause on the skin: Functional changes, clinical studies, in vitro models and therapeutic alternatives. Mechanisms of ageing and development, 185, 111193. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.mad.2019.111193
Seo, H. J., Cho, Y. E., Kim, T., Shin, H. I., & Kwun, I. S. (2010). Zinc may increase bone formation through stimulating cell proliferation, alkaline phosphatase activity and collagen synthesis in osteoblastic MC3T3-E1 cells. Nutrition research and practice, 4(5), 356–361. https://doi.org/10.4162/nrp.2010.4.5.356
